January 1991 - Vol. 34 No. 1

The field of information systems (IS) has experienced a severe shortage of faculty throughout its 20-year history. This shortage now appears to be lessening. A survey of the supply of IS doctorates finds a steady stream of graduates from IS doctoral programs. In 1989, 61 universities in the U.S. offered Ph.D. or Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) concentrations in information systems. A survey of these programs resulted in 51 responses, including all the programs producing significant numbers of graduates. The following are highlights from the survey: Recent increase in the number of IS doctoral students: In 1988-89 there were 807 doctoral students enrolled in 51 doctoral programs in information systems. The programs admitted 217 new students for 1989-90. In the 1988-89 time period, 36 programs produced 120 doctorates—a 24 percent increase in graduates from the previous year. In the 1989-90 time period, 41 programs expect to graduate a total of 140 students—a 2-year cumulative increase of 44 percent: Downsizing by some programs, but others—including new programs—adding to capacity. In 1988-89, there were 13 programs that produced three or more doctorates. Those 13 programs accounted for 70 percent of all the graduates in 1988-89. In 1989-90, those same 13 programs expect to account for only 39 percent of the total number of graduates. Of the 13 programs, 5 except to have a decrease in the number of students over the next five years. Of 51 schools, 9 offering doctorates in IS have yet to graduate a student. Another 9 schools had their first graduate in 1985 or later. Several additional doctoral programs are in the planning stages. Twenty-three programs expect a growth in the number of students over the next five years. In this article, we examine the supply and demand gap

Master's level computer science programs have experienced significant and sustained growth during the past two decades. According to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics [4], a total of 1,588 master's degrees were conferred in computer and information sciences in 1971. This figure increased 508% to 8,070 in 1986—a larger percentage increase than any other major discipline. The 1970s and 1980s have also been an era in which computer science has experienced major theoretical and technological advances. The period has been marked by severe faculty shortages which are only now beginning to ease. Complicating matters further, the discipline is so young that it is still in the process of defining its intellectual framework [3]. Considering all of these factors, it is not surprising that there is a considerable amount of diversity and flux among computer science master's programs. What is surprising, however, is that little data is available pertaining to this degree.